Pratt Fine Arts Center Receives Award from Seattle Met Magazine

Pratt Fine Arts Center will accept the Light a Fire: Nurturing Creativity Award from Seattle Met Magazine! The Light a Fire Awards honor outstanding individuals and nonprofit organizations based in the Seattle metropolitan area that are working to make the city-and beyond-more prosperous, rewarding, and healthful for all our citizens. The Nurturing Creativity Award is given to an organization working to build, enhance, and sustain art and culture.

Pratt is flourishing with over 3,500 youth and adults participating in more than 500 glass, sculpture, jewelry, painting and printmaking classes, giving many individuals their first exposure to making art and teaching aspiring, emerging and established artists new techniques and skills. Through a unique Studio Rental Program, Pratt provides artists with opportunities to hone technical skills and produce art. More than 20,000 members of the public are exposed to the work of contemporary visual artists through the more than 40 exhibitions, lectures, and demonstrations Pratt presents each year.

Pratt was founded in 1976 to provide high-quality visual arts training in Seattle's Central District, one of the city's most diverse neighborhoods. Originally part of the Parks Department, Pratt gained nonprofit status in 1983. Pratt serves as a lasting tribute to Edwin T. Pratt, the former Executive Director of the Seattle Urban League, who devoted himself to improving the quality of life for others.

Pratt aspires to extend the visual arts experience to people from all backgrounds by creating opportunities for everyone to learn, make, and experience the visual arts through equal access to our free and subsidized classes, low-cost studio rental program, and free exhibitions, lectures, and events. Pratt strives to be a conduit for artistic development, providing pathways to knowledge, support, and inspiration and changing the way individuals see themselves and the world around them.

Executive Director Steven Galatro accepted the award on behalf of Pratt. Galatro has implemented a year-round programming model to increase capacity and flexibility to meet specific programming demands. New programming such as Summer Youth Camps, the Seattle Glass Experience, and the revival of the Tuition Assistance Program are just a few examples of initiatives Galatro has successfully achieved for Pratt.

"Pratt is fortunate to have a dynamic and dedicated community of artists and advocates at its back; our recent successes should be credited entirely to their diligence," says Galatro. "We are absolutely thrilled to receive this honor, and we are setting plans in motion that will continue to nurture the creativity of artists, students, and the entire community. We have only just begun to scratch the surface of what is possible at Pratt."

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